Therapeutic targeting of SLC6A8 creatine transporter suppresses colon cancer progression and modulates human creatine levels.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality. Creatine metabolism was previously shown to critically regulate colon cancer progression. We report that RGX-202, an oral small-molecule SLC6A8 transporter inhibitor, robustly inhibits creatine import in vitro and in vivo, reduces intracellular phosphocreatine and ATP levels, and induces tumor apoptosis.

LXR/ApoE Activation Restricts Innate Immune Suppression in Cancer.

Therapeutic harnessing of adaptive immunity via checkpoint inhibition has transformed the treatment of many cancers. Despite unprecedented long-term responses, most patients do not respond to these therapies. Immunotherapy non-responders often harbor high levels of circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs)-an immunosuppressive innate cell population.

miR-124 regulates adult neurogenesis in the subventricular zone stem cell niche.

The subventricular zone (SVZ) is the largest neurogenic niche in the adult mammalian brain. We found that the brain-enriched microRNA miR-124 is an important regulator of the temporal progression of adult neurogenesis in mice. Knockdown of endogenous miR-124 maintained purified SVZ stem cells as dividing precursors, whereas ectopic expression led to precocious and increased neuron formation.

A specialized vascular niche for adult neural stem cells.

Stem cells reside in specialized niches that regulate their self-renewal and differentiation. The vasculature is emerging as an important component of stem cell niches. Here, we show that the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) neural stem cell niche contains an extensive planar vascular plexus that has specialized properties.

An RNAi screen identifies genes that regulate GABA synapses.

GABA synapses play a critical role in many aspects of circuit development and function. For example, conditions that perturb GABA transmission have been implicated in epilepsy. To identify genes that regulate GABA transmission, we performed an RNAi screen for genes whose inactivation increases the activity of C.

Na+/Ca2+-exchanger-mediated Mn2+-enhanced (1)H2O MRI in hypoxic, perfused rat myocardium.

Paramagnetic Mn2+ has emerged in the search for non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to monitor Ca2+ in diagnostic and prognostic cardiovascular disease tests because it both alters MRI contrast and behaves as a Ca2+ 'surrogate' in vivo. However, the reliance on macroscopically averaged measurements to infer microscopic processes constitutes a major limitation of MRI. This investigation circumvents this limitation and contributes an MRI-based myocardial Ca2+-transporter assay, which probes the Na+/Ca2+-exchanger involvement in Mn2+ (and presumably Ca2+) transport by virtue of its response to pharmacological inhibition.

Systematic analysis of genes required for synapse structure and function.

Chemical synapses are complex structures that mediate rapid intercellular signalling in the nervous system. Proteomic studies suggest that several hundred proteins will be found at synaptic specializations. Here we describe a systematic screen to identify genes required for the function or development of Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junctions.

Stem cells: from epigenetics to microRNAs.

The complexity and cellular diversity of the adult brain arises from the proliferation and differentiation of a small number of stem cells. The intrinsic state of stem cells depends on their spatial and temporal history and affects their responsiveness to extrinsic signals from the microenvironment. Stem cell self-renewal and differentiation along neuronal and glial lineages are defined by the dynamic interplay between transcription, epigenetic control, and posttranscriptional regulators, including microRNAs, whose key role in stem cell biology is just emerging.